Humankind rushes toward self-destruction, and must evolve or die. Our perspective: a scientist exploring an alien artifact on Triton, a teen-aged hacker in a city gone mad, three actors manipulated into igniting interplanetary war, the de-facto ruler of half the solar system, a soldier fighting in Africa to entertain his audience, and an artificial intelligence facing personal crisis.
In the not-too-distant future, humanity has colonized the solar system. People present themselves virtually, sometimes several layers deep, and it's often hard to tell who is real.
Battles raging in trans-Neptunian space and on Earth are broadcast for the entertainment of millions. The audience is unaware if the characters are intheflesh or virtual.
An orbiting EarthCo-owned supercomputer called the Brain becomes sentient while the tycoon who created it spins plans to take over the solar system.
A lone scientist explores an alien artifact on Neptune's moon Triton, aware that squabbles between rival corporations not only interfere with the broadcast battle, but threaten to destroy him, the artifact, and potentially all of humankind.
This is how life as we know it ends... and something new begins.
